Connect to your favourite weather forecaster and look for the following conditions:
Category: Finishes Product: Oil or Alkyd Resin Paint
Temperature Limitations: Use above +10 C (+50 F) and below +32 C (+90 F)
Rain Limitations: No rain for 24 hours
Wind Limitations: Don't paint in hig...
Lime was the primary ingredient in most stains in the old days -- it was called a 'lime wash'. It can be used to stain all porous materials including masonry, concrete, and stucco without causing any of the moisture problems that modern finishes may cause.
Given the need to use traditional mater...
Commercial cleaners
There are a lot of tile cleaners, even some grout cleaners on the market such as those shown above or the newer cleaner specifically for grout, Oxy-Grout. They work pretty well if you have a stain on grout that had been sealed before the stain, because the stain will be somew...
It's all about maintenance and one of our viewers had half of a very interesting story.
Burnice writes: "I had a wonderful morning, the heating unit went out of my dryer! Why does everything seem to fall apart this time of year!??? The guy that fixes things went in to the dryer and pulled out t...
revised Spring 2009
WEATHER
Follow this link for details on critical weather specifications for applying water repellents to outdoor wood.
MOISTURE PROOFING
Although pressure treated wood, cedar and redwood will not rapidly develop rot, any wood left totally unprotected outdoors will grey wit...
Several of you have sent in the tip of using sawdust or wood shavings, mixing it with glue to make a putty, rather than buying a commercial putty. So I put my props maker to work. Using all the same wood shavings, but three different glues he got three different results. First a tip he came up wi...
Our TV camera found Lawrence in a store: "When you are using MDF boards, what is the best wood filler to use?"
Medium Density Fiberboard or MDF is that very dense compressed sawdust that is formed into panels and all kinds of molding. When filling nicks and dents in this material, it is importan...
Wendy wants to clean years of nicotine off of her walls and repaint.
GENERAL GRIME
First, the best cleaner for any paint preparation is TSP, Tri-Sodium-Phosphate. There are now some more environmentally friendly "TSP Substitutes" available on the market as well. If no stain is left, use any ...
Cleaning stone
People often create hazed patches on polished marble surfaces simply by using the wrong cleaner. Anything like vinegar or most glass cleaners will actually etch the surface of marble, requiring re-grinding of the surface. This is not just some substance sitting on the marble th...
Scratches on furniture can often be camouflaged by any of a number of simple techniques, especially if the scratch follows somewhat the grain of the wood.
WIPE-ON POLY
When there is no stain on the wood, so the finish is actually the natural colour of the wood, simply putting a bit more fini...
